SITE ORIENTATION

The take off at Chelan is on top of the Chelan Butte located between Lake Chelan and the Colombia River. Access to the Butte is via the Chelan Butte Road. All vehicles driving to take off must be equipped with a shovel and a fire extinguisher.

The Butte is a sensitive site managed by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) we have permission to take off from the designated launches only and launching from any other location on the Butte is strictly forbidden. There are 4 main take offs on top of the Butte - Ants, Between the Rocks, Green Monster and Lakeside. On light wind days each take off will work depending on the time of day and orientation of the sun. Dust devils are very common on the Butte and all pilots must take extreme care when getting ready and especially once they are attached to their gliders.

The designated bail-out landing zone is the Chelan Falls Park soccer fields located east of the Butte on the western edge of the Colombia River. Chelan Falls Park is the daily meeting place for rides to Take Off and is equipped with a large car park, BBQ area and toilets. The Park is managed by the PUD which is the same group that manages Beebes Campground and Park on the eastern side of the river.

It is strictly forbidden to land at Beebes Park. The PUD has made it clear that if pilots are caught landing at Beebe’s the flying community will face loosing access to the Chelan Falls Park.